Nicholas Reeves

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Carl Nicholas Reeves (born 28 September 1956) is an English Egyptologist.

After studying history at UCL, he obtained his doctorate in Egyptology at the University of Durham.

He worked at the department of Egyptian antiquities of British Museum and as consultant for the Freud Museum, London.

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[edit] History

Reeves began his studies in 1975 at University College London, graduating in 1978 with a B.A. (First Class Honors) in Ancient History. He moved on to research at Durham University, and obtained his Ph.D. in Egyptology (a study of tomb robbery in the Valley of the Kings) in 1984.

He is currently G. A. D. Tait Curator of Egyptian and Classical Art at The Myers Museum, Eton College; Director of Collections, The Denys Eyre Bower Bequest, Chiddingstone Castle; and Director of the Valley of the Kings Foundation. He is also Honorary Fellow at Durham University Oriental Museum.

Reeves studied at Durham University alongside Dr Aidan Dodson and Dr John Tait under Professor John Harris.

Reeves was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, London, in 1994.

Reeves is best-known as the Director of the Amarna Royal Tombs Project.

[edit] Controversy

In 2002 Reeves was suspended from excavating in Egypt after accusations that he was involved in antiquities smuggling. However, at a meeting of the Supreme Council of Antiquities held in Cairo on 7 August 2005, his name was officially cleared of any wrongdoing after a 3-year investigation.

In 2006, the discovery of KV-63 by Otto Schaden’s University of Memphis team made worldwide news. Soon after Nicholas Reeves made the claim that his team had "first located the tomb during the course of a ground-penetrating survey of our concession in 2000...the Americans were handed copies of our radar data in mid-2005 as soon as we heard of their stumbling upon it." Reeves said that his team had not excavated the tomb at that time because "such facilities are exceedingly rare and potentially preserve unique data. Our strategy was not to cherry-pick but to work systematically."

On July 28th 2006, Reeves announced on the website of the Amarna Royal Tombs Project details of radar investigation of another possible tomb in the Valley of the Kings. Reeves believes that KV63 is just the 'signal' pointing at the discovery of a much more significant tomb, possibly the one identified by radar:

...despite current media disappointment at the absence of bodies it will soon become apparent that KV63 is in fact a discovery of the most extraordinary significance - not for what the single chamber actually holds but for what it clearly signals, which is the definite presence in the Valley of at least one further tomb. The situation is this: as a chamber full of embalmers’ refuse KV63 stands in relation to a future burial as the KV54 embalming-cache in 1907 stood to the tomb of Tutankhamun. It represents without question an augury of further, significant discoveries to come.

The ARTP team decided to publicly state the existence of this possible new tomb, and even its precise location, for three reasons:

Firstly, it will prevent the possibility of yet another ‘accidental’ discovery and hurried clearance: publicising the existence of the feature in advance of its physical exposure ought to allow time for a considered, scientific approach to its investigation to be insisted upon by the wider archaeological community and arranged through the SCA. Secondly, disclosure now will limit the amount of collateral archaeological damage otherwise likely to be sustained in the sort of random search which is all but imminent. Thirdly, with the publicity the announcement of a new tomb is likely to generate there is a chance that sanity will prevail and the message at last get through that all future excavations in the Valley must be carried out systematically and at a state-of-the-art level - not by the very modest standards which are currently considered acceptable.

[edit] See also

[edit] Publications

Reeves has published many academic articles and several well-received books, including:

  • Valley of the Kings: The Decline of a Royal Necropolis
  • The Complete Tutankhamun
  • Howard Carter: Before Tutankhamun (with John H. Taylor)
  • The Complete Valley of the Kings (with Richard H. Wilkinson)
  • Ancient Egypt: The Great Discoveries
  • Akhenaten: Egypt's False Prophet

Reeves also co-authored a children's book, entitled Into the Mummy's Tomb: The real-life discovery of Tutankhamun's Treasures.

[edit] External links

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